November 22, 2002

Bush Aide: US Will Ignore UN

For the arrogance and lies of the Bush administration, see this description of top Bush defense advisor, Richard Perle, speaking to a UK political conference, where he said the US would go to war even if inspectors found no evidence of forbidden weapons:

GEORGE Bush's top security adviser last night admitted the US would attack Iraq even if UN inspectors fail to find weapons.

And our allies in Britain were not amused to find that Bush might ignore international law and the UN.

Former defence minister and Labour backbencher Peter Kilfoyle said: "America is duping the world into believing it supports these inspections. President Bush intends to go to war even if inspectors find nothing.

"This make a mockery of the whole process and exposes America's real determination to bomb Iraq."

Max pointed out this statement and thinks it proves that war is inevitable. But we already knew the warhawks in the administration wanted to go to war no matter what. What we didn't know is that they are so arrogant that they can't keep their mouths shut about lying to our allies, thereby feeding anti-American mobilization in Europe. Political appointees like Perle may be willing to ignore allies, but it's been clear that the actual military leaders don't think that unilateralism denounced by allies is a safe environment to deploy troops. So arrogant comments like Perle's are exactly the tools needed by progressives to mobilize and divide the establishment to derail the energy for war.

And the left should never buy into the inevitability of war, which Perle's comments are designed to feed, since that feeds a cynical passivity in the population that assists the warhawks. A far better attitude is what the San Francisco Bay Guardian (the alternative weekly) is blaring on their front cover this week.